The bright Lantian moon shone down on the dark waters surrounding the sprawling city, its light sparkling upon the still surface. The spiraling towers that rose up from the surface shone forth with their own twinkling lights, pushing back the darkness of the pitch-black sky. Near the top of one of the tallest spires was a sprawling balcony, jutting out from the minaret to look out over the vast city below.
Daniel Jackson stood upon the balcony, along with Vala Mal Duran, the two leaning upon the surrounding railing. They looked in silence at the vast metropolis and the dark waters below.
"She did what she believed was right, Daniel," the raven-haired woman said fervently, suddenly breaking the quiet. "How badly can she be punished for that?"
The archaeologist didn't answer right away, pursing his lips as his worried expression became even more intense. "I don't know," he answered simply and sincerely.
Trying to cheer him up, Vala replied lightly, "Maybe she'll just get a slap on the wrist. Or be forced to write 'I will not interfere in the affairs of humans again' ten thousand times."
The man's mood did not improve. "Yeah, I doubt that," he said with a dour tone. She sighed, regarding him with a mixture of frustration and sympathy.
"She said you had your answer," Vala pointed out. "We found out the two addresses we came here for. Can you at least smile about that?" she asked her question with a hopeful voice.
"I suppose," Daniel answered begrudgingly. "But we did find out something else, too."
"What?" She asked with a curious voice.
"They're not going to help us," he said simply. "We're in this alone."
Vala frowned slightly, staring into his eyes as he spoke. The two looked at each other in silence, the weight of his words heavy between them.
Then Daniel looked back out at the darkness before them. Vala did the same, pondering his words. While she was admittedly concerned by the ominous portent of what he said, she was much more worried by how dour the man was becoming.
Glancing back over at him, she watched silently as he gazed out into the waters below, a dark expression upon his face. It pained her to see him suffer like this. Setting her jaw, she determined that she was not going to let him just languish. No, she was going to brighten his evening and make him put aside his fear and doubt.
She just wasn't sure how, quite yet.
Suddenly a soft whirring came from behind them. Both glanced over their shoulders to find the door to the tower opening. Samantha walked out to join them on the deck. "Hello," she said with a smile.
"Hey," Daniel answered, with a glad voice. "When'd you guys get back?" Vala glanced at Daniel irritably. She found herself just a touch annoyed that he seemed to brighten at Sam's arrival, while her efforts to cheer him up had no affect on him. Nonetheless, the raven-haired woman looked away from the archaeologist to smile warmly at Carter. She was also glad to see the other woman back.
"Not too long ago," the blonde-haired woman answered. "Emerson beamed us to the Gateroom about half an hour ago." She paused, looking at Daniel and Vala standing together, then smiled warmly at the sight of the two standing together by the railing.
Daniel furrowed his brow at Sam's expression, watching her silently for a moment. "What?" he asked with a confused voice.
"Nothing," Sam answered quickly, flicking the briefest of glances at Vala. The raven haired woman had been also confused by her smile, but then realized what was so amusing as she caught Sam's look. Vala looked over at Daniel furtively, then back at Sam to return the smile with a mischievous one of her own.
Daniel looked over at Vala just in time to completely miss the entire exchange. He watched her with a furrowed brow, confused by the two women. Vala looked back over at Daniel, smiling widely at him. The two stared at each other silently for a short while, Daniel looking confused while Vala just smiled sweetly at him.
"So," Sam said, causing them both to look back at her. "There's a little celebration party just starting in the cafeteria, I wanted to see if you two wanted to come and join us."
Vala brightened at Sam's words, there was no way she was going to say no to a party. She opened her mouth to answer, when Daniel replied first. "No thanks, Sam," he said. "I don't feel like celebrating, really."
The Colonel furrowed her brow at this as Vala turned her head to regard him with an annoyed expression. "What's wrong?" Carter asked, looking confused.
Before Daniel could get a word in edgewise, Vala crossed her arms and looked back at the other woman, quickly answering with a bitterly sarcastic tone, "Oh, he's just upset that he got the information he came here for."
Sam blinked in confusion at Vala's answer, watching the two with a still bewildered expression. Very quickly, she started to smile with a faint twist of bemusement as she watched Daniel's reaction to Vala's words. The archaeologist looked away from Sam to glare at the other woman, crossing his arms. "Dammit Vala, you know that's not why I'm upset."
Sighing, Vala uncrossed her arms, putting her fists on her hips as she looked back over at him with a piercing stare, half turning to face him. "Yes, Daniel, I know. You're upset about what happened to her. The thing is, she made her choice. She knew what the risks were, and she decided to do the right thing anyway. Just like I've heard you chose to do when you were ascended." The archaeologist pursed his lips at her rebuke, looking somewhat abashed at her point. Vala stared at him intently, silently daring him to argue with her.
Sam furrowed her brow. She was hesitant to jump in, but was totally lost. "I'm sorry, who are you talking about?" she asked politely.
The two looked away from each other back to Sam. Daniel sighed, answering, "An ascended Ancient known as Morgan Le Fay helped us. Like Oma, she was skirting the line by helping us. She gave us the two planets we were looking for." He paused, then continued with a troubled voice, "I pushed her for more, urging her to get directly involved. She started to by trying to tell us something, but then they intervened and made her disappear."
"It was her choice," Vala reiterated, staring at him intently. Daniel looked back at her bitterly.
"Oh," Sam answered, a little taken aback by the story. She paused for a moment, taking it in. "Morgan Le Fay, like in Camelot?" she asked with a furrowed brow.
Daniel looked back at her, answering, "The same."
"But you got what you came here for?" Sam asked.
Vala was about to answer, but Daniel saw her open her mouth and beat her to it. "Yes," he said wearily, exchanging irritated glances with the raven-haired woman. "We got the names and gate addresses of two planets, one of which probably houses Merlin's weapon."
There was a brief silence before Carter spoke again. "Well, I think I agree with Vala." The archaeologist looked from the woman next to him to Sam with an incredulous expression. Vala looked over at her with an exultant smile.
Trying hard not to smile at their reactions, the Colonel continued, "Morgan knew what the consequences could be and she made her choice. It's tragic what probably happened to her, as well as the fact that the ascended Ancients aren't going to help us." Daniel sighed, watching Carter with a tense expression. "But, she gave you the information you were after...and, we blocked the Ori Supergate." She paused, watching Daniel struggle with the matter. "In all, I'd say we had a pretty good day."
"Thank you," Vala said in an exasperated tone, "That's what I've been trying to tell him." She looked back at Daniel, asking with a pleading voice, "Could you please just let it go, darling?" He looked from Sam to her, furrowing his brow with a tense expression. "Let's just be happy with what we've won today."
Daniel sighed, pursing his lips as he considered Vala's words. "Come on," she said, touching his arm, "let's go join the party. There's no need to sulk out here all night when today is the first time things have gone well for us in a long while." Sam watched on with a hopeful expression as the man wrestled with himself in silence.
"Alright, fine," he said wearily. "If it'll keep you from pestering me, I'll do it."
"Well," Vala answered indignantly, narrowing her eyes at his words. She withdrew her hand and took a step back. "Your welcome for the concern," she said with a bitter voice. With that, she turned on her heel and started walking for the door.
Daniel looked pained at her reaction, even as the words had left his lips. "Vala, wait," he said pleadingly, quickly stepping after her. He caught her arm and stopped her. She half turned to face him, looking angry. "I'm sorry," he said with a sigh. "That was totally uncalled for, you were just trying to help me."
The raven-haired woman sighed heavily at his words, regarding him with dark eyes. Pursing her lips, she looked down. "Well," she began, studying her feet intently for a moment. "I suppose you could make it up to me by taking me to the party." She lifted her head and looked into his eyes. Daniel blinked at her words, looking taken aback and confused. The raven-haired woman smiled at the sight of his reaction. She quickly added, "Then, maybe some sight-seeing around the city tomorrow..."
The archaeologist smirked, regarding her warmly. "Sure," he answered with an amused tone, cutting her off before she could add more conditions. "That sounds good."
Vala smiled from ear to ear at his words, watching him with a warm gaze. "Well then, I suppose I can forgive you, Daniel."
The archaeologist smiled all the more at her words, chuckling in spite of himself. He glanced over at Sam. "You said the party was in the cafeteria?"
Sam blinked in surprise at the sudden question in her direction. The amused smirk she had worn as she watched the two disappeared in a heartbeat, but not before they first saw it. "Oh, uhm," she started as she got her wits about her. "Yeah, I imagine it's getting into full swing by now. Doctor Weir figured her people needed the down time, so she made a city-wide announcement about twenty minutes ago."
"That'll be perfect timing, then!" Vala proclaimed brightly. Daniel looked over at her with a confused expression. She blinked at his reaction. "Well, darling, one never shows up at a party early. Better to arrive fashionably late," she said with a grin.
Daniel chuckled, then held out his arm for her, like he had when they went for a walk while inhabiting Harrid and Salis' bodies. Vala looked at the gesture with a surprised expression.
"You said you wanted me to take you to the party," he plainly answered her questioning look.
Vala smiled from ear to ear at his words, then she wrapped her arm around his. Daniel marveled at the utter look of contentment that came over her face.
"Come on, you two," Sam said with a tired grin, turning to lead them there.
When the three arrived in the cafeteria in Atlantis, they found it was bustling with activity. By his reckoning, Daniel figured that most of the expedition from Earth must have been in the room. He was suddenly very uncomfortable, instantly regretting that he had given in to Vala. The scholarly man had always preferred the quiet stillness of his studies. Dealing with this many people was something he never felt comfortable doing.
By contrast, Vala couldn't have been happier. She lit up upon entering into the room, her smile wide and her eyes bright. Daniel glanced over at her. He found that, in spite of his own turbulent emotions, he couldn't help but smile at the sight of her happiness. She was even more beautiful than usual. Maybe this wasn't a mistake after all, he decided.
Then he blinked in quiet surprise at himself as he suddenly realized he had been reflecting on the woman's beauty. Suddenly he again felt confused and nervous, discomfort sweeping over him all over again.
Vala, meanwhile, was completely oblivious to Daniel's roller coaster of emotions. She couldn't take her eyes off the celebration before them. It had been a while since she'd been to a party. Granted, she had been to bigger and rowdier events, but after everything she'd been through lately, this little shindig would suit her just fine.
"Well," Carter said, drawing their attention, "you two go have some fun. I just saw Doctor Weir over there and I've got some questions for her, so..."
"Go ahead, Sam," Vala answered, "we'll be just fine."
Sam grinned in return, exchanging a knowing look with the other woman. The two waved at each other and Sam wandered off into the crowd. As the two watched Carter vanish into the sea of people, Vala turned to looked over at the archaeologist with a wide smile plastered to her face.
"Come on, Daniel," she said eagerly. The archaeologist glanced over at her, still feeling somewhat confused and anxious. He met her gaze, and suddenly found himself unable to resist a small smile as he stared into her happy eyes. She squeezed his arm tightly. "Let's go mingle!"
Her words and actions brought a smile out of Daniel, which he was glad for since he was desperately trying to keep his discomfort from showing on his face. The woman on his arm was so happy, he didn't want to ruin it for her with his own issues and misgivings. Instead, he simply smiled faintly and answered quietly, "Okay."
The raven-haired woman brightened even more, immediately turning to rush into the room. She moved so fast she that she half dragged him along. Daniel realized that if he had in fact revealed any of his unease, she was completely oblivious to it.
The two started to wind their way through the crowd, Vala smiling and talking to random people that she'd never met before. She briefly joined various conversations, making jokes and comments here and there. Almost everyone she spoke to smiled warmly, listening to her words attentively, and laughing when she said something funny. Everyone seemed very pleased as she made their way through the room.
Daniel didn't say a word the whole time. He simply found it difficult to smile and make eye contact with people, let alone say anything. Now that they were in the thick of the party, he felt even more uncomfortable than before. Again, he began to wonder why he even agreed to this.
Before he knew it, Vala had navigated them to one of the tables on the side. The surface was covered with champagne flutes and open bottles of bubbly, as well as a few bowls of punch and rows of cups. Trays were laid out with various sweets of different shapes and sizes.
Vala withdrew her arm from his and started to pour the champagne. Daniel stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked out at the sea of people in the room. The din of the dozens of conversations seemed overwhelming to him. He pursed his lips, wondering idly if he could find a way to beg out and leave. After all, he reasoned, Vala would probably have more fun if she wasn't dragging him along behind her like a wet blanket.
He sighed heavily, frowning. Now he was worried about ruining Vala's fun with his dour mood. Daniel really couldn't remember when he'd seen her as happy as when they walked into the party. Actually, he could. It was when Landry told her that they were going to let her stay at the SGC.
Well, either way, the last thing he wanted to do was spoil her fun. Maybe he could just slip away quietly...
"Stop it, Daniel." Vala's stern voice broke him out of his reverie. He half jumped, turning to find himself looking into piercing blue eyes. Suddenly a wave of guilt washed over him.
"Stop what?" he asked a little too quickly.
With that, she held out one of two flutes of champagne for him to take. "Stop brooding over what happened today. I brought you here to relax and enjoy yourself, not so you could keep sulking."
He hesitated for a moment, then reluctantly took the glass from her. He had no intention of drinking from it, however. Alcohol and he just didn't get along, he knew that too well. "I wasn't thinking about that, Vala," he answered truthfully. She raised an eyebrow at his words, looking at him thoughtfully. Half-crossing her arms, she swirled the liquid in her own glass as she considered him with a pensive gaze.
"Then stop plotting your escape," she said finally with a grin. Her smile only grew as she watched his crest-fallen reaction.
"I dragged you here for your own good, Daniel," she explained. "You don't take enough time to unwind." She grinned as she lifted the glass to her lips. "Besides, you promised me you'd do this, to make up for being mean to me just before..."
Daniel raised an eyebrow at her words, tilting his head slightly. "Funny, I don't remember actually promising you I'd do this..."
She paused before drinking, raising an eyebrow back at him. "Are you arguing semantics with me, darling?"
The archaeologist pursed his lips at her words, looking into her eyes with a frustrated glare. Vala merely looked back at him with a triumphant gaze as she paused, her glass near her lips. He sighed from the tips of his toes. She had him trapped, and she knew it.
"Fine," he said with a defeated voice, watching her grin from ear to ear and then sip her champagne.
She watched his dour expression thoughtfully as she drank the bubbling liquid. Pulling the glass away, she said wryly, "Oh, you poor man. An amazingly beautiful woman wants nothing more than to drag you to a party and enjoy your company. How simply terrible for you." She smirked at him as his brows knotted together in frustration while he glared at her. "Now then, be a good boy and have some of that champagne. You need to relax."
Daniel frowned even more at her words, looking at the glass he held awkwardly in his hand like it was some kind of toxic compound. "Vala, I really don't care for alcohol..."
"Look, Daniel," she interrupted him with an exasperated voice. "You're going to relax and have fun tonight, so you might as well just get used to the idea." He looked back at her with a disbelieving stare, he couldn't believe she was talking like that to him, or that he was still standing here, listening to it. "Now, we can either do this the easy way, or the hard way..." He raised an eyebrow at her, watching her warily as she further explained, "and I guarantee you that you'll have a lot less to be embarrassed about tomorrow if you just go for the easy way..."
He sighed again, watching her quietly for a moment as he considered her words. Bright blue eyes stared back at him intently, unwaveringly. His eyes wandered to the glass in his hand. He watched the golden liquid as small, tiny bubbles slowly rolled to the surface, clinging to the walls within. He'd had champagne once before, actually. It was a long time ago, back when his paper about the pyramids as landing platforms had been accepted for publication. He couldn't remember if he liked the drink then, the memory was too overshadowed by what had followed.
Swallowing bitterly, Daniel closed his eyes and raised his glass to his lips. The drink tasted surprisingly sweet and fruity. It was light on the tongue and the bubbles tickled down his throat. He found himself smiling, he actually liked it. Then he opened his eyes and looked through the liquid and the glass to see Vala watching him with an amused smile.
His smile vanished as he pulled the glass away. Raising an eyebrow at her, he asked bitterly, "Happy now?" As he spoke, he believed he already felt a little light-headed.
A dark eyebrow lifted at his words, her smile turning crooked. "For now," she said simply, her eyes still full of amusement.
They stared at each other wordlessly for a while, she with the same amused look while he seemed somewhere between annoyed and irritated.
"Come on," she said finally with a warm and genuine smile. She reached out and took his free hand in hers. "We've got more mingling to do."